Staying Power

I just read this great article about what foods help you to stay full the longest. This ties right in with my last post about breakfast. It is really important to find foods that actually keep you full so that you aren’t reaching for something else an hour after your meal!

The article also references 5 Protein Packed Snacks and links you to menshealth.com. Feel free to visit their site for more specifics, but the 5 snacks they recommend are:

3 oz of chicken, turkey, or tuna (14-22 g protein)

3 eggs (19 g protein)

16oz of 2% chocolate milk (17 g protein)

30g scoop of Whey powder (24 g protein)

5.3oz of Greek Yogurt (15 g protein)

Lean meats and eggs are no surprise. I knew they were protein packed foods. However, the chocolate milk totally surprised me! But, according to menshealth.com, there was a study in the Journal of American College of Nutrition that showed that chocolate milk is a great post workout beverage for building muscle. Who knew? 🙂 No wonder they serve chocolate milk after races. This option is higher in calories than some other options but if it’s good for you, maybe we shouldn’t stress about the calories as much as we should worry about being healthy! (That’s hard for me to do, but…do as I say, not as I do!)

Whey powder really doesn’t sound exciting to me, but it is probably convenient. You can mix it with water or milk. You get even more protein if you mix it with milk. I like to eat my calories rather than drinking them, but that’s just me.

I was also surprised to find that Greek Yogurt is so full of protein. The light yogurt that I normally eat only has 6 grams of protein AND has added sugar and fruit. The article recommends avoiding yogurts with fruit and sugar. Instead, we should add our own fresh fruit or nuts. The fruit in yogurt is usually processed and therefore you lose the some of the benefits of eating fruit! Fresh fruit is very filling and satisfying. The fruit in yogurt really isn’t.

So, the bottom line is, WHAT you eat makes a huge difference in your satisfaction levels. Eating the right foods will keep you from reaching for that high calorie snack and then kicking yourself later. It takes time to make changes, so just start a little at a time. It doesn’t have to be “all or nothing.” Start making small changes that you can live with and eventually you will wake up and realize your habits have changed. 🙂